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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28213038">A Very Hee-Ho Christmas</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/redbluezero/pseuds/redbluezero'>redbluezero</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Persona 4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Domestic Fluff, Hijinks &amp; Shenanigans, M/M, Persona Secret Santa 2020, White Christmas</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-11 01:02:29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,872</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28213038</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/redbluezero/pseuds/redbluezero</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>All Yousuke wanted was to have a nice Christmas Eve date with Hayato. The late Junes shift, a third wheeling Teddie, and apparently Jack Frost himself would do anything to stop him.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Hanamura Yosuke/Narukami Yu, Hanamura Yosuke/Persona 4 Protagonist, Hanamura Yosuke/Seta Souji</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>A Very Hee-Ho Christmas</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Happy holidays! I wrote this for the Persona Secret Santa. My ship was Souyo and my prompt was “Honestly go ham” so, to fulfill that, I decided to refer to the Persona 4 protagonist by his stage play name— Hayato Asakawa.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Yousuke grunted as he slid a heavy cardboard box off of a pallet rack. Holding it tightly, he fell down onto his heels and set the box onto the floor. He took out the box cutter he kept in his work apron and sliced through the tape. Upon opening the flaps, he was bombarded by the sight of several squished together Jack Frost plushies.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“To the store shelves you go,” Yousuke grumbled, picking the box up again and heaving it out of the warehouse. He checked the time on his watch as he did and saw that there were still fifteen minutes left before his shift ended. There was no reason to complain, since all he had to do was stock shelves, but he couldn’t help but feel bummed about working overtime on Christmas Eve.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After all, Christmas Eve was one of the most romantic nights of the year. Couples around the country spent it together, Yousuke and Hayato being no exception. Hayato had come back to Inaba for winter break, so Yousuke wanted nothing more than to ditch Junes and run to the Doujima residence for a nice time full of sweets and presents.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yousuke, you’re sulking again!” a high pitched voice scolded playfully. He shuddered in surprise, nearly dropping the heavy box onto his feet. Yousuke frantically shook his head, looking for the source of the voice, until he saw Teddie standing next to the shelf he was supposed to stock the plushies onto. Right, he forgot that Teddie had been assigned to the toys section. He fit right in, wearing that bear suit.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I totally am not,” Yousuke grumbled as he grabbed a Jack Frost plush. Squishing its neck in his fist, he slammed it onto the shelf and aggressively straightened it out. He did the same for a couple more plushies, organizing them into a pretty row.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know, you’re not the only one who’s bummed that we’re not at Doujima-san’s right now. I wanted to play with Nana-chan but she’s probably already in hibernation!” Teddie whined as he shoved a paw into the box. He pulled out a handful of Jack Frost plushies and began to help Yousuke. Whether it was to ease the workload or simply out of frustration, he couldn’t tell.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh, who said anything about </span>
  <em>
    <span>we,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Teddie?” Yousuke scoffed as he started working on the second shelf. He lined up the plushies in a zig zag that time.  “It’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>my</span>
  </em>
  <span> date night with Hayato. I’m the only one going there after this.” Teddie dropped both his jaw and the plush he was holding.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You big meanie, you can’t hog the house! I wanna go!” he yelled, stomping his foot. “Nana-chan is my friend! Speaking of, are you also gonna kick </span>
  <em>
    <span>her</span>
  </em>
  <span> out so you can score?” A few customers started to stare, wondering who was causing such a scene. Before any of them could eavesdrop, Yousuke slammed his hand against Teddie’s mouth.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“O-Of course not, you dumb bear!” he stammered. His cheeks grew redder by the second and his eyes darted around the store. Reluctantly, he gave in to get Teddie to stop. “Fine, you can come along. But don’t bug us, okay? Your job is to keep Nanako-chan busy while Hayato and I marathon </span>
  <em>
    <span>Phoenix Ranger Featherman R </span>
  </em>
  <span>in his room.” Teddie’s pout morphed into a smile as wide as his suit.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wahoo!” he exclaimed, throwing his paws up into the air. He skipped around the aisle in celebration. Yousuke couldn’t help but let out a chuckle, though he also rolled his eyes. Teddie went on for a while longer before waddling back with a smug grin. Huh, that was odd.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is </span>
  <em>
    <span>Phoenix Ranger Featherman R </span>
  </em>
  <span>your code word for scoring?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“N-No way, I meant it literally!” Yousuke stammered, “Naoto-kun got me back into it. He’s got, like, every single episode on DVD so I borrowed some to show Hayato.” It was the truth, yet Teddie narrowed his eyes dubiously. That made Yousuke want to plunge his head into the box of plushies and let them suffocate him, but he awkwardly went back to restocking them instead. He’d put a pause on working to talk to Teddie, which wasn’t responsible when parents were filing in and frantically buying last minute presents for their kids, but hopefully his father would let it slide.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If you say so,” Teddie hummed mischievously. He stopped badgering Yousuke about his love life and started shouting “Come buy our Christmas edition Jack Frost plushies!” to the customers. Soon enough, the shelves were empty again. The clock struck 18:30 and their shift finally came to an end.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re free!” Yousuke cheered the second he and Teddie reached the staff room. He flung off his work apron, changed out of his uniform, and pulled his phone out of his pocket. “Let me text Hayato that </span>
  <em>
    <span>we’re </span>
  </em>
  <span>on our way.” He gave Teddie an amiable grin, at which the bear began to beam.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re so kind, O Prince of Junes!” Teddie sighed dramatically. He even swept the back of his paw across his forehead for maximum effect. Yousuke’s mouth was about halfway open, preparing to chide his friend, when his phone buzzed. He jumped to check his texts, hoping that Hayato was okay with letting Teddie tag along.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>asakawahayato: it’s cool. meet me @ bus stop tho. doujima-san sent nanako-chan to mai-chan’s so he could have xtra time 2 set up the house for an xmas surprise but he’s still not done and needs me 2 pick her up. sry thx ily &lt;3</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Change of plans, Teddie,” Yousuke announced, “We’re going to Mai-chan’s place first.” He flipped his phone shut and grabbed his coat from his locker. He wrapped that and the scarf that’d been tucked into the sleeve around him. December was known for its freezing weather, after all.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yipee! I’ve been wanting to play with Mai-chan, too,” Teddie cheered. He clapped his paws together twice. “This must be what they call a Christmas miracle. Let’s go!” With that, he opened the door to the staff room and took off.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, wait for me!” Yousuke cried, grabbing his bag and running out after him. He stumbled through the aisles until he finally caught up with Teddie at the entrance. The automatic doors slid open, letting in a chilly breeze that blew past their hair, and the two walked together through the shopping district.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, over here!” Hayato called when he saw them coming down the hill. He waved his arms at them with a bright smile and started to jog forward. Yousuke did, too, and the two met halfway with a hug.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I missed you, Partner!” he laughed as Hayato held his head in his hands and brought their foreheads together. He pressed a quick kiss onto Yousuke’s lips and replied,</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I saw you this morning!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, but working at Junes feels like an eternity!” Yousuke complained, still giggling to himself. His breath came out in puffs, the freezing temperature making each one visible.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ahem!” Teddie suddenly cleared his throat. Hayato and Yousuke jumped off of each other and hid their hands behind their backs bashfully. With faces like deer caught in the headlights, they looked at Teddie.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry to ruin the lovey-dovey moment, but our bus is here!” he told them, motioning toward the large vehicle that’d pulled up to the stop down the road. He pouted guiltily as he did, though that soon faded away when the sounds of wheels turning filled the air. All three boys made eye contact, nodded, and made a run for it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hold on! Wait for us!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thankfully, the driver slowed back down and they all stumbled into the bus. Hayato and Yousuke collapsed into the first two seats whereas Teddie tried to squeeze his suited self into the seat across from them. They all panted heavily, out of breath.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t think I’ve run that fast since we were fighting Shadows in the TV world,” Yousuke groaned as he cuddled up against Hayato. The other boy let him lean into the crook of his neck and held him by the side.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Me neither… At least you have someone to bear hug, Yousuke! I have nobody!” Teddie grumbled as he slowly, gradually rolled off the seat. Every time the bus rumbled on the uneven road beneath it, he got a little closer to face planting onto the metal floor of the bus.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Will you just shut up already?” Yousuke yelled, so flustered that he kicked off a shoe and threw it at Teddie. The sole hit the bear square in the face, which set off a storm of bickering in the bus. The driver shook his head as they did, while Hayato simply smiled. It’s the small moments in life, right?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Twenty minutes or so later, the bus drove into the outskirts of Inaba. Though the night sky was pitch black, faint outlines of apartment buildings could be made out through the windows. Since Teddie and Yousuke were still arguing, Hayato had to interject,</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is our stop.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Teddie jumped up from his seat so fast that he almost lost his footing. Thankfully, he managed to grab onto a pole in time. He tried to play it off by posing like a superhero, at which Yousuke let out a mocking snort.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nice going, I’ll take that as me getting the last word,” he teased as he got up from his seat. Hayato, who was still holding onto him, got pulled up from his seat as well. The three of them filed out, walking close together to conserve warmth, and made it to the familiar apartment.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nanako-chan, we’re here!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hayato didn’t even need to knock after that. The sound of rapid, thumping footsteps grew closer and closer until the door was flung open with gusto. Standing in the foyer, donning a pink dress and a sweet smile, was none other than Nanako.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Big bro!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mai and her mother came to the foyer as well and greeted the three boys. Yousuke couldn’t help but feel a bit left out, seeing as Hayato was thanking Mai’s mother and Teddie was chatting with the girls, but he watched them all happily. Yeah, it’s the small moments.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Bye-bye, see you again!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nanako held both Hayato and Yousuke’s hands on the way back to the bus stop, walking in between them. Teddie, despite being even worse at navigating Inaba than the two city boys, skipped a few paces ahead of the three.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did ya have fun at Mai-chan’s today, Nanako-chan?” Teddie asked, turning around to face them. Walking backwards probably wasn’t the smartest idea but, then again, he wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mhm! Mai-chan and I made a new friend while playing outside earlier,” Nanako replied cheerfully. She swung her (and Hayato’s and Yosuke’s) arms up and down animatedly as she said it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wow, really?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, he’s just like— Oh, there he is! Hello again, Jack!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When Hayato, Yousuke, and Teddie looked in the direction that Nanako was pointing in, they were expecting to see a foreign boy about her age. However, what they saw down the sidewalk wasn’t even human. It was a creature, short and stout, with a white body and blue clothes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hee-ho!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Both Hayato and Teddie’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. They looked at the creature, then at each other, then back at the creature. In unison, they shouted,</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Jack Frost? What are you doing here?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That time, Yousuke really did feel left out. Obviously, he knew that the creature was Jack Frost. He’d stocked an absurd amount of plushies that looked like it less than an hour ago. What he was confused about was that it was </span>
  <em>
    <span>alive </span>
  </em>
  <span>and that Hayato and Teddie were acting like it was an </span>
  <em>
    <span>old friend.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“You guys know that thing?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hayato froze. He let go of Nanako’s hand and tapped her back, ushering her to go play with Jack Frost. Once she was gone and distracted, he leaned onto Yousuke’s shoulder and whispered,</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He used to be one of my Personae.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, alright. Now, how about you, Teddie?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Teddie furrowed his eyebrows and put his paw under his chin. He seemed to be lost in thought, still staring at Jack Frost. The snowman stared back with his black beady eyes, perpetually smiling.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Teddie, you in there? Or are you hollow again?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You need to get back to the TV world soon, otherwise you’ll disappear!” Teddie yelled all of a sudden. He began to fret, holding his head in his hands and shaking it around. It wasn’t in response to Yousuke, he wasn’t looking at him, but rather to Jack Frost. Now Yousuke wasn’t the only one confused.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Jack Frost’s gonna disappear?” Nanako cried. She clutched her new friend’s hand, squeezing it tightly, and glanced at Hayato tearfully. He, in turn, shot Teddie a glare, ordering him to explain.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, you see, I’m the only Shadow who can leave. Jack Frost’s not a Shadow, he’s a Persona, but same difference. Since he’s a fairy, he </span>
  <em>
    <span>can</span>
  </em>
  <span> leave for Christmas but he has to get back by bedtime!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I thought the rule was that he can only leave on Halloween and has to return by midnight,” Hayato corrected. Teddie shook his head vehemently.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not anymore! We have to get Jack Frost back to Junes as soon as possible!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>To be honest, Yousuke had tuned out of the conversation some time ago. However, when the bear turned his pleading eyes toward him, he understood that his date night was in jeopardy once again. This time, though, Yousuke wasn’t going to budge. He absolutely wouldn’t.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Please, big bro, you have to help Jack!” Nanako implored. She looked at Hayato with puppy dog eyes, something that was known to make him cave. There went date night.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’d be glad to help!” he exclaimed with zest. Yousuke facepalmed. Maybe he was the fool, though, since that enthusiasm was part of what he loved about Hayato.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We can all take the bus back and figure out what to do once we get to the shopping district,” he commanded, like the leader he was. Everyone nodded and dashed over to the bus stop. They made it on time without cutting it close, unlike before, and the five of them tumbled into the bus.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yousuke took a seat across from the group, isolating himself. Hayato was busy catching up with Nanako, and he didn't see the point in sitting next to his boyfriend if they couldn’t cuddle. At least Teddie and Jack Frost looked like they were having fun. They were playing some sort of hand game. What a lame Christmas miracle.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is the shopping district, kids,” the bus driver announced via a crackling loud speaker. Whoever said “time flies while having fun” was clearly a liar, since Yousuke zoned out so hard that the bus ride was over in an instant. Hayato had to actually drag him from his chair and out the bus.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Morning, sunshine,” Hayato whispered jokingly as he wrapped his arm around Yousuke. He wondered if Hayato could feel his heart pounding in his chest, given how close they were. His heart rate definitely quickened when Nanako startled him by shouting,</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hurry, Jack’s in danger!” She crossed her arms at the couple from her post at the bottom of the bus steps. She kicked the gravel beneath her with the tips of her white sneakers.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re coming, we’re coming,” Hayato reassured calmly, though Yousuke could’ve sworn he saw a small blush on his face. Now </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>was a score.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll take Nanako-chan home, so you guys go on ahead!” Teddie suggested when the boyfriends finally got down from the bus. “We’ll just tell Doujima-san that you two are on a </span>
  <em>
    <span>beary </span>
  </em>
  <span>spicy date!” Nanako giggled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Absolutely not!” Yousuke shrieked. However, before he could retaliate, Teddie and Nanako ran off in the direction of the Doujima household. That left him stranded in the shadowed shopping district with Hayato and Jack Frost. Their blank gazes were fixed pointedly on him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’re you guys waiting for?” Yousuke asked them, crossing his arms. They looked at each other and then at him, perfectly in sync. It was no wonder they used to be one and the same.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re the Prince of Junes. You lead the way.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hee-ho!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yousuke would’ve been honored to be put in charge if it didn’t mean that he was getting stuck with all the work. He sighed heavily, letting a puff of breath much larger than the one from earlier float out of his mouth.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Man, why’d it have to get so cold? It wasn’t this bad when my shift ended,” Yousuke whined upon seeing it. His teeth began to chatter, so he tightened his scarf around his neck. Hayato laughed at him and, ticked off, Yousuke snatched his hand. At least he could use his boyfriend to keep him warm.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Jack doesn’t feel cold, ho!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>If he wasn’t so comfortable huddled up to Hayato, he would’ve pried himself away to punt Jack Frost into the sky. He already regretted putting off a date to help the snarky little guy.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, obviously. You’ve got </span>
  <em>
    <span>frost </span>
  </em>
  <span>in your name!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Other than a lack of vision and the occasional windchill, their march onward shouldn’t have been difficult. Night strolls were Hayato’s thing, which Yousuke knew since they’d hung out into the evening several times last year. Honestly, he credited those strolls with kindling the flames of their love. But now, Jack Frost kept stopping to point at stores on the way and yell weird names. It was as if he was unaware of the doom that’d come for him if he didn’t get a move on.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ho-rest of Fair-hees!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That was the gas station. Hayato suggested that perhaps Jack Frost could sense remnants of Izanami’s presence there. Yousuke didn’t want to think too hard about that because, honestly, the whole fog thing still scared him. He realized that he ought to be grateful to even be running a tedious errand on Christmas Eve.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Grim hee-per’s Cavern!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Those were the steps leading up to Marukyu Tofu, apparently. Yousuke wondered if Rise would take offense, then decided not to tell her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Temple ho Nightmare!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That was Tatsuhime Shrine, which made a lot more sense than the others.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Dragon’s Bell-hee!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Every time one of the street lights flickered, Jack Frost shrieked that name. When Hayato asked why, all he got was something about “dark zones”.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mecha Ho-rtress!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Specifically, Jack Frost yelled that at the cars that sped by as they all walked along the highway rail. Hayato picked him up after the third time he tried to cast Bufu on a poor pickup truck, while Yousuke was left to apologize to the drivers. He was no longer grateful to be escorting the godforsaken ice monster.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hee-ho, the Crystal Palace!” Jack Frost cheered once the three of them finally reached Junes. His default smile somehow expanded. He then began to squirm around in Hayato’s arms, nearly jumping out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There are still people here, you need to hold still!” Yousuke scolded Jack Frost, pointing a finger at him. Hayato helped by tightening his grasp, though he stifled a chuckle as he did so. He always did that when Yousuke got exasperated.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And you should hide him! You won’t be laughing when some middle-aged mother tries to pry what she thinks is the last of the limited edition dolls right out of your hands,” he chided Hayato. He slipped off his scarf and threw it over Jack Frost as cover. The little snowman sneezed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think he’s allergic to you,” Hayato said with a straight face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let’s just get to the electronics section and end this!” Yousuke huffed as he stomped past the store’s welcome display. He curtly looked back, giving a stern glare, and Hayato quickened his pace. Using only muscle memory at that point, the boyfriends dashed to the electronics section.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Make way, Junes staff coming through!” Yousuke shouted, careening between several confused customers. Hayato cradled Jack Frost, still wrapped in the scarf, like a small child. Sweat beaded down his forehead as he checked the store’s wall clock.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>By the time they reached the familiar TV, they were exhausted. Walking in the cold was enough to beat up the human immune system, and overexerting themselves afterward only made things worse. Yousuke and Hayato’s tired faces reflected eerily in the inky blackness of the screen. Well, if they got sick, at least they’d be eating chicken soup together.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hayato, you ready?” Yousuke asked, resting his hands on his knees. He scanned the area for any customers but, thankfully, the electronics section was barren.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I’ll send him back,” Hayato sighed. He gently unwrapped Jack Frost, giving the scarf back to Yousuke, and lowered his round body toward the screen. His hands, stiff from the cold, hesitated just before dipping him into the TV, though. After last year’s events, it felt strange.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you for helping me,” Jack Frost reassured them. For a split second, his smile seemed a bit more genuine. “Hee-ho!” And with that, he backflipped into the TV.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Guess he made it back before bedtime,” Hayato commented. He turned to Yousuke and began to gently wrap the scarf around him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh, what did Teddie mean by bedtime, anyway?” Yousuke asked, trying to change the subject. Anything to hide the blush on his cheeks. The way Hayato’s fingers occasionally brushed his neck as he folded the wooly scarf made his heart race.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know, but we should hurry and get home ourselves. I’m pretty sure Marie’s set on making this a White Christmas,” Hayato said as he tucked the last bit of the scarf in on itself. Yousuke immediately undid it by flinging his head upward in shock.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aw crap, I don’t wanna get snowed on! I already feel like I have frostbite from all that walking!” he blubbered. Without thinking, he took Hayato by the hand and ran once again. Before his boyfriend could protest, they charged out the store and into…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A road covered in pure white.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, we’re too late! Man, why didn’t you say something sooner?” Yousuke groaned. A fluttering snowflake zipped right into his mouth. The taste of cold metal spread all over his tongue.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“To be honest, I kind of wanted to experience something like this,” Hayato explained as he looked up at the sky. More snowflakes drizzled down onto the couple.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Like what?” Yousuke sputtered, trying to spit out the foul tasting slush.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A romantic and picturesque moment,” Hayato answered, “Now, let me get that for you.” He gazed right into Yousuke’s eyes, put his hands on his shoulders, and leaned in. The snow was no match for the warmth that spread as their lips connected with that deep kiss.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did you just try to eat a snowflake from my mouth?” Yousuke asked in awe once they finally pulled apart.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mhm,” Hayato affirmed with a nod. “I think it melted already, though.” His pensive face made Yousuke put on a grin.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Normally I’d make fun of you but, I think I’m too in love to care,” he sighed dreamily, “So I think I’ll just say… Merry Christmas, Partner.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hayato kissed him again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merry Christmas, Yousuke.”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This fic was inspired by Jack Bros. so I threw in a few references (Jack’s deadline for getting home, several locations in game). However, I also made a small nod to the drama CD by mentioning Nanako’s friend, Mai. She’s a real neat character, anyway that’s the full extent of me going “ham” for this fic! Hope you enjoyed!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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